Melting An Icy Heart
by ShippingISilent
Summary: Seto hires Serenity to work for him as a maid, but he has no idea what he's getting himself into. The two slowly start to fall for each other. Will fate bring them together? Or is Seto's heart surrounded by too much icy for Serenity to melt? SetoxSerenity
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: Hello! And welcome to my (deleted many times) fanfiction! But now I'm here to stay (I promise this time).

Check out my youtube: .com/user/ShippingisSilent?feature=mhee

Melting an Icy Heart By: ShippingiSilent

Serenity lifted her tired head from a textbook when she heard her alarm clock beeping loudly from the other side of her tiny room; she drearily walked over to it and harshly pressed down on the 'off' button.

She let out a yawn and began to place her school uniform on lazily, until she looked at the time and realized that it was 7:36 and picked up her pace.

_I'm going to be so late! _Serenity thought as she finished getting ready and heading over to the kitchen, past Joey's room to find that he was sleeping on the floor.

"Joey! Wake up," Serenity said from the doorway, as she grabbed a shoe that was near the door and threw it at her older brother.

Joey instantly awoke and shot up into a sitting position, as he looked around at his surroundings because he was on the floor, but he merely shrugged and fell back down again because he wanted to sleep more.

"I'm making Belgium waffles…" Serenity sang out as she slowly crept away from the door, and not a second later Joey was racing out the door and to the kitchen.

Serenity laughed as her older brother came back over to her after being disappointed to find that there was no delicious waffles being made, as he looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

"I'll make them for you on Saturday. But right now, you've got to get ready or we're going to be late for school!"

Joey sighed before going back into his bedroom to get dressed, as Serenity hurried into the kitchen to grab two bags of pop tarts for herself and her older brother, as she thought to herself: _it's going to be a long day._

When Joey and Serenity were closer to the school, they met up with the usual crew of Tea, Mai, Yugi, Tristan and Duke.

Tristan and Duke instantly made their way over to Serenity, who was happily eating her pop tarts and admiring the crystal blue sky.

They all began small conversations with one another for a short while until Seto Kaiba, in his limousine passed by and accidentally splashed water on a few of them.

The limousine stopped shortly afterwards in front of the building, where the crew was standing a fair distance from, as Seto Kaiba walked out carrying his silver briefcase.

"Kaiba! Look what you did!" Joey instantly began shouting as he pointed to where Mai, Yugi, and Tea were standing together; all of their clothes were stained with water.

Kaiba glared down at Joey, before he glared over at the rest of the crew before carelessly began walking away without stating an apology.

"You should at least say you're sorry," Tea softly said while shivering, as Seto stopped walking and only moved his head so that his mouth and nose could be seen; his gleaming cold blue eyes shielded by his dark brown hair.

"It was hardly my fault. But if you would like to file a lawsuit against my chauffeur hitting you with water, be my guest," he coldly suggested while stalking away without any other words of explanation, as Joey shot everyone a hard glance and instantly began protesting.

"That Kaiba is such a jerk! He doesn't care about anyone but himself…" Joey continued ranting until Mai soon calmed him down by placing a manicured finger in front of his lips to keep him from saying anything.

"Hun, relax," she soothed while leading him towards the school building and offering more comforting words, as Tea and Yugi soon followed with Tristan, Duke, and Serenity falling behind.

"Why is Kaiba so mean?" Serenity asked in a quiet voice; her pop tart still sitting in the package in her hands because she was alarmed to continue eating it.

"Don't worry about Kaiba, Serenity," Duke began stating in a comforting voice as he gently placed his arm over her shoulder; this caused Tristan to boil with anger and for him to impulsively knock Duke's arm off of Serenity.

"He's just a jerk. If he gives you any problems, let me know," Tristan explained while placing his arm on Serenity's shoulder, as she looked at both Duke and Tristan and gave them a bright smile.

"Thanks so much for both of your concern!" Serenity exclaimed in a friendly voice, as both Duke and Tristan grinned and walked Serenity to her first period class.

They both said goodbye as Serenity walked into her first period advanced science class and sat down at her usual seat; she waited until everyone else filed into the classroom and remained quiet at her seat and for her teacher to begin speaking.

"I am handing back your tests, and I must say that I am not rather impressed by your scores," the teacher explained while handing back the tests to the students, as Serenity sighed and awaited seeing her horrid test score. "But I applaud Miss Wheeler and Mr. Kaiba for both getting a perfect 100!"

Serenity was shocked when the teacher handed her back the paper, with a circled 100 written across the top of the page in large letters. Her classmates both looked at Serenity and Kaiba in disgust, but neither took much notice; Serenity because she couldn't stop staring at the grade, and Kaiba because he was staring at his laptop that was on his desk.

"Mr. Kaiba, put the laptop away or I'm calling the principal!" the teacher threatened while handing back the test to the young businessman, as Kaiba set it aside on his desk indifferently and continued to work on his laptop. "Mr. Kaiba-"

"If you value keeping your job, I suggest you get out of my face and allow me to keep my laptop on my desk for the next two minutes so that I can finish working on a new model of a duel disk that will make me millions," he explained confidently and egotistically without looking up from his laptop, as whispers from the other students began circulating around the classroom without Kaiba paying any mind.

The teacher finished handing back the tests without another word to Kaiba, who shut his laptop off minutes after saying he would do so. He grabbed his test, looked at it briefly, and then grabbed his silver briefcase to put both his test and laptop in.

Kaiba began staring down each one of his classmates who was staring at the businessman, and Kaiba's eyes finally found their way to Serenity, who was daydreaming and doodling on a piece of paper.

But Kaiba didn't stare at her half a second longer as he shifted his eyes over to the board and waited for the teacher to begin the lesson.

Lunch came around slowly for Serenity, who was carrying a few heavy textbooks and notebooks and a brown paper bag lying on top slowly to ensure that they wouldn't fall.

"Serenity, let me get you those," Tristan offered while coming up beside her, as he took the books out of her hands which caused Serenity to giggle.

"Thank you, Tristan," Serenity thanked him as they sat down at their usual table, with Serenity sitting in between Tristan and Duke.

"How's your day been so far, Serenity?" Duke questioned with interest as Serenity began eating her lunch, and Tristan had placed down the books and shot Duke a deathly look.

"It's been okay. Thank you for asking," Serenity thanked him with a friendly smile as she dropped her gaze back onto her lunch, just as Mai and Joey sat down across from them at the cafeteria table.

The entire table broke out into small conversations until Yugi's quiet voice dragged them out of speaking for a moment. "How about we invite Kaiba to sit with us?" he offered while standing up and pointing over to where Kaiba sat at an empty table.

"How about we don't?" Tristan replied with a laugh as a few others at the table laughed but said nothing else in protest.

"There's no way I want rich boy sitting at our table," Joey angrily stated while standing up to face Yugi, who was looking defensive but he called after Kaiba anyway.

"Hey, Kaiba! Come here!" Yugi called out loud enough for Kaiba to hear, as he looked up from his computer screen; his cold blue eyes bearing irritation towards Yugi.

"Yugi, what are you doing?" Tea exclaimed as she grabbed onto his sleeve and pulled on him so that he was sitting back down next to her, as Kaiba closed his laptop and placed it in his briefcase before coming over to where the large group was sitting.

"Would you like to sit with us?" Yugi asked brightly while pointing to a seat right next to him, as Kaiba's eyebrows rose in disgust and scanned over the table quickly.

Kaiba said nothing as he started to stalk away in the direction of the doors, leaving the entire table to break back up into small conversations.

Later that night after Serenity had done her homework and she was getting ready to go to sleep, she went out into the small kitchen of her and Joey's apartment because the light was on, to find that Joey was sitting at the table reading over some bills.

"I'll talk to my boss about getting more hours," Joey thought out loud while placing the bills on the table, as Serenity went over to her brother and gave him a hug. "Everything's going to be all right, sis." he replied in a comforting voice as he hugged Serenity closer to him.

"I love you, Joey," Serenity said after awhile of silence between them, as Joey smiled and kissed her forehead lightly with his lips.

"I love you too, Serenity."

Chapter one is finished! Please review; it would mean a lot :)


	2. Chapter 2

Authors note: Thanks for the reviews! I really do appreciate them.

That night, Kaiba was stuck at KaibaCorp working on a project by himself; he was working so hard that when he finally looked at the time, it was past midnight. While he looked indifferent about the time, he noticed how hungry and tired he was and that he should probably head home.

He called the house so that a driver should come and pick him up, but no one answered the phone, leaving Kaiba without a car and no way to get home. He sighed and decided to work a little more and then walk home in the rain.

When Kaiba arrived home to a quiet household, he went downstairs to where his driver, cook, and a few maids' rooms were and where they were currently sleeping.

He got a glass of water and splashed it on the driver's face, causing the older man to wake up in an instant when his face came in contact with the liquid.

"So you wake up from a drop of water, but not to a ringing cell phone?" Kaiba angrily hissed at the shivering driver, as the others in the room awoke from their slumbers due to the commotion in the room.

"Mr. Kaiba… my deepest apologies," the worker instantly apologized while sitting up in his bed and bowing his head in disgrace on account of his actions.

"You're fired," Kaiba bluntly stated as he dragged the driver out of the room and to the front door; Kaiba threw open the door and pushed the helpless worker out into the rain. "Have a great night." he sarcastically offered as he closed the front door and locked it; he heard several knocks on the door to forgive the man, but Kaiba did nothing of the kind as he went upstairs with a smirk on his face.

"Mr. Kaiba…" a maid softly whispered as she entered the young master's bedroom; Kaiba instantly awoke, as he was a light sleeper, and he jumped up in bed.

The maid blushed when she saw Kaiba shirtless, as he instantly threw a pillow at her when Kaiba noticed her blushing; the maid's face went emotionless soon after as he began to speak. "Why are you waking me up?" he hissed in annoyance, causing the maid to back up towards the door as Seto stood up and went over to his armoire to get dressed.

"You didn't wake up to your alarm, sir," the maid said as she bowed and left the room when Kaiba motioned for her to do so after he had heard her words.

_I didn't wake up to my alarm? That never happens. _Kaiba thought as he rubbed his tired eyes and noted how he only got about five hours of sleep. _I've had less._ He thought as he got dressed and went downstairs into the dinning room to see Mokuba sitting at the table, patiently waiting for breakfast to be served.

"Hey, Seto," Mokuba greeted as Kaiba grunted and sat in his seat as two maids entered the room to place down a plate of food for both of the Kaiba brothers.

Kaiba fetched one of the maids by snapping his fingers, and in an instant a few were standing by his side awaiting further instruction.

"Someone call and hire a new driver. I need one this morning," he ordered and shooed them away so that they could follow his request, as Mokuba shot his older brother a questioning look.

"Where's your other driver?" Mokuba curiously questioned with interest as he took a large bite out of his Belgium waffle hungrily, compared to Seto, who opted to eat his food slowly and carefully.

"I fired him," Kaiba said the statement lightly and simply as he continued eating his meal, as Mokuba's eyes widened though he wasn't surprised at Seto firing more employees.

A few minutes into the quiet meal, a maid came into the room and coughed a little so that she would get Seto's attention.

"We couldn't find a driver that could come in this morning on such short notice," the maid said as she did a quick bow before going over to the door to leave the room, but Seto abruptly standing up at the table got her to stop walking in an instant.

"Did I say you could leave the room?" Kaiba angrily snapped as he turned around to face the now trembling worker; she blinked in surprise by his sudden mood but didn't think too much of it because she knew that he was often moody. "You're fired."

Tears gathered in the maid's eyes but she said nothing as she went downstairs to collect her things, as Kaiba sat down and ate the rest of his meal in silence.

Kaiba was stuck walking to school, which clearly upset him, but he kept busy by being on his phone the entire time for business. He got off of the phone when he reached the school and placed it into his briefcase, and because he was doing so, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" Serenity apologized when she bumped into the moody CEO, as Kaiba merely glared down at her and continued walking.

"Hey, rich boy! Apologize to my sister!" Joey demanded as he ran up to Kaiba and pulled down on the sleeve of his trench coat; Joey's actions caused him to be thrown onto the ground by Kaiba, whom didn't like being touched.

"Don't. Touch. Me," Kaiba snapped as he gave a final glare to Joey, before the young businessman shifted his cold blue eyes over to a fearful looking Serenity.

Serenity threw Kaiba a disappointed look as she helped up her brother while Kaiba stormed away and into the school building.

During Kaiba's advanced English class, he sat down at his usual seat and placed his briefcase on the ground right by his feet; he didn't notice Serenity sitting down next to him until she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry about bumping into you today," she apologized sincerely, as Kaiba only moved his eyes over towards her to shoot her a heavy glare before he returned his gaze onto the blackboard.

He received back an essay that had earned him a 95, but Kaiba looked at it as if it were insignificant as he stuffed it into his briefcase.

The rest of the day went by without much significant, until Kaiba got to lunch and sat down at his usual table by himself. But he didn't mind being alone; he actually preferred it so that he could get work done on his laptop.

"Hey, Kaiba," a few girls greeted as they went over to him and sat down beside him; Kaiba didn't even lift his eyes upwards as he continued staring at his laptop with a concentrated look in his eyes.

_They'll leave soon enough._ Kaiba thought to himself and sure enough, the girls were frustrated with him because he was being unresponsive and they left soon after they joined him.

The same night, Kaiba made an effort to come home earlier than usual to make it for dinner, as he appeared at the kitchen table and sat down at his usual seat.

"Seto! You're home early!" Mokuba exclaimed in an excited voice as he raced over to the older Kaiba and gave him a hug that Seto gladly accepted.

"How was school?" Kaiba questioned when Mokuba sat down and began digging into his dinner, with Seto doing the same with much more grace.

"It was good. Today, my teacher told us that frogs…" and Mokuba went off into his usual rant that Seto couldn't follow, but he tried by throwing in an occasional word of recognition or a nod of the head.

After dinner, Seto usually went up into his office without any question from Mokuba, but sensing his older brother's good mood, Mokuba decided to press his luck.

"Seto, want to play video games with me?" Mokuba asked in a hopeful voice with large eyes, as Seto let out an irritated sigh as he headed up the stairs with Mokuba following close behind.

"I have too much work to do, kid," Seto replied as he ruffled Mokuba's hair, and went into his office, leaving Mokuba to sigh and slowly trudge into the game room to play video games by himself.

And there's chapter two! Review, please. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for reviews! Just letting you guys know that I updated about once a week, usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Onto chapter three!

During their advanced science class, Serenity and Seto sat next to each other and were the only students to not be chattering quietly as their teacher took attendance.

Serenity sat doodling in her notebook without paying attention to much else, as Kaiba did the same but by burying himself into typing work related information on his laptop.

"Partner up!" their teacher exclaimed as she put up an overhead slide of the partners; Kaiba and Serenity were paired together, but Kaiba didn't even look up at the overhead as Serenity slid her desk next to him.

The teacher gave them a worksheet to complete, and they both finished it with a few minutes left of the period; this left Kaiba to be buried back into his work as Serenity sat next to him with a bored expression on her face. She leaned over to watch what he was doing, and Kaiba noticed shortly afterwards her interested expression and how she was leaning over his shoulder.

"Do you mind?" he snapped in an irritated voice as he closed his laptop so that she could no longer see what he was doing, as he shifted his burning eyes to her.

"I'm sorry," Serenity apologized gently as she moved her desk back over to its original spot in fear or making Kaiba angrier. "I just think what you're doing is interesting." she honestly said as Kaiba raised his eyebrows and gave her an odd look; he didn't answer but continued to work by typing harshly on the keys. "You shouldn't type that hard. You might break your-"

"I'm trying to work!" Kaiba hissed in frustration as he threw her a harsh look that she didn't take lightly, as she looked downwards while they sat in silence for the next ten minutes of class until the bell rang.

"Would you like to walk with me to class, Kaiba?" she questioned innocently and hopefully when he was packing stuff into his bag, as he slowly raised his eyes to meet her bright expression.

Kaiba clicked his tongue and began walking out of the room, with Serenity rushing so that she could keep up with his quick pace.

"Did you do the English homework? I love creative pieces," she enthusiastically said while walking by his side, as Kaiba glared down at her as if he didn't understand why she was walking next to him.

Kaiba did answer her, and he even quickened his pace so that it was harder for her to keep up with him; Serenity was aggravated but she didn't give up as she rushed past students to keep up with him.

"I made some doodles, because I love to draw and everything. What did you do for yours?" she asked when she caught up to him; Kaiba remained silent as he was concentrated on getting to class and getting away from Serenity. "Kaiba-"

"Would you stop following me?" Kaiba hissed as he stopped walking abruptly as he stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, causing Serenity to hit up against his back. "I don't associate myself with Wheelers." he spat in disgust while moving his head slightly so that his steel blue eyes were available for Serenity to get a glimpse of.

Kaiba took off into harshly walking away, leaving Serenity feeling lost as to what to do behind him; she felt thrown into a daze until Duke came up next to her and threw an arm casually around her shoulders.

"Hey, Seren… are you okay?" he asked in concern when he noted her lost expression, as he pulled her over to the side of the hallway so that they wouldn't bump into many other students passing by.

"Yeah," she weakly answered while looking towards the ground, but she truthfully was lost into thinking about what Kaiba had said and she could hardly find the words to say much else to Duke because she needed time to think. "Listen, I need to get to class." she mumbled and tired to escape from Duke, but he wouldn't give up too easily as he pulled her aside again.

"Serenity, what's the matter?" Duke repeated in the same overly protective voice as before, leaving Serenity to instantly feel bad for making Duke worry, and she began to think that he would soon go on to telling Joey that she was with Kaiba.

"It's nothing. I'm just having an off day. I really need to go!" she exclaimed while pushing him away and rushing off to class, as Duke sighed and ran into Joey.

Duke was about to inform Joey of his younger sister's odd behavior, but he decided it was best to keep it to himself until he found out what was up with Serenity.

Break

During lunch, Serenity trudged to the outside where the gang usually sat, and she accidentally ran into Kaiba because she wasn't paying attention.

"Serenity, wait," Kaiba called out when she began running away from him the instant they made contact, but she stopped where she was and realized that he might be apologizing from before.

She suddenly grew hopeful with the assumption that she turned around so quickly and eagerly, as Kaiba stopped in front of her and bent down to reach her height.

"Do us both a favor and stay away from me," he explained simply as he could, as he went back to his regular height and stormed off to find a table a far distance away from Serenity.

Serenity stood there for a few moments silently, until Tristan came up beside her and threw his arm around her shoulders casually.

"Hey, Serenity. Hey, what's the matter?" he asked in concern when he noticed her lost expression, as they began walking over to where the gang was sitting.

"Oh nothing," Serenity lied as they sat down next to each other at the table, with Serenity biting her lip because she had a feeling that both Duke and Tristan had seen her with Kaiba, and she hoped that they would keep their mouths closed about it.

Authors note: Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Authors note: Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I didn't specify before, but I updated regularly (about once a week). Usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays.

When Serenity had left halfway through lunch, this caused both Tristan and Duke to protest by standing up to attempt to follow her, only to see that she was pushing the doors open to the school building.

Duke and Tristan both excused themselves from their group and were walking very swiftly to try and catch up with Serenity.

"What's your problem?" Duke snapped in an annoyed voice, as Tristan rolled his eyes and quickened his pace because he didn't want to deal with Duke.

"I'm just going after Serenity. I saw her with Kaiba and I'm-"

"You saw her with Kaiba too?" Duke asked in a slow voice as he stopped walking; by now they were in the school building, as Tristan stopped walking as well and turned around to face Duke.

"Wait, you did also?" Tristan checked in a quiet voice to confirm what he had heard, as Duke nodded his head while they both were quiet for some time.

"She's gotta stay away from Kaiba," Duke seriously said, as Tristan nodded his head in agreement, while both boys set out on a mission to find Serenity.

It didn't take that long to find her, but she had went into the ladies restroom, leaving Tristan and Duke to stand outside of the bathroom, looking clueless.

"What should we say to her?" Duke questioned out loud in wonder, as he leaned his body up against the wall next to the female's bathroom, while Tristan was standing a distance away, scratching the back of his neck.

"Tell her that Kaiba is a horrible, mean, nasty, terrible-"

"Would you like to finish that statement?" Kaiba asked quietly, as Tristan snapped his head over to see Kaiba standing in front of him, looking calm but annoyed.

Not knowing what to do next, Tristan began backing up as he swallowed a large lump in his throat and motioned for Duke to follow him. But Duke stayed near the door of the bathroom in case Kaiba tried to attack Serenity, while Kaiba moved slowly towards a terrified Tristan.

"I'm sorry, Kaiba! I didn't mean it! I just didn't want you to hurt Serenity." Tristan breathed out in one breath when he was pushed up against a wall, and was surprised when Kaiba's harsh expression faded quickly at the mention of Serenity's name.

He was thankful when Serenity came out of the bathroom because that meant he didn't have to speak, as Tristan took this as a perfect time to rush past Kaiba and walk over to Serenity.

"Tristan, you talk to Serenity. I'll handle Kaiba," Duke confidently offered when Serenity had emerged from the bathroom and was looking confused as to what was going on.

Tristan sighed but did as he was told, as he went over to Serenity and began escorting her down the hall, leaving Kaiba and Duke to be standing in the middle of the empty hallway.

"May I help you with something?" Kaiba hissed with narrow eyes when Duke had walked over to him cautiously, as if Kaiba was prone to bite at any moment.

"I want you to stay away from Serenity."

Kaiba raised his eyebrows in response to the request, as he wasn't exactly sure how to feel or what to say in response to this.

"I know what you've been doing to her," Duke stated in a cocky and proud voice, as Kaiba arched an eyebrow because he truly wasn't following the conversation.

"And what is that… exactly?" Kaiba clarified while taking a step closer to Duke, which instantly put him to physical unease because he swallowed, but his composure remained.

When Duke didn't initially respond, Kaiba rolled his eyes in aggravation and walked past Duke to go over to the staircase, because as far as he was concerned, the conversation between him and Duke was over.

Break

Kaiba hung up the phone with anger, as a business deal that he was trying to make had failed; this left him in a usual irritable mood as he went out of his office to go to the dinning room to eat.

But he stopped when he noticed a maid on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor as if she didn't even care, with tiny ear buds stuffed into her ears.

Kaiba simply stood behind her for a few moments, hoping to catch her attention; but when she failed to do so, he bought his foot up over to where the silver bucket was and kicked it over.

The maid instantly looked around until she laid her eyes onto Kaiba, as she swallowed and took the ear buds out of her ears.

Kaiba bent down very slowly and cautiously, as he smirked at her and said without hesitation, "You're fired."

The maid began pleading for forgiveness, but Kaiba didn't have any patience; he walked away and went over to the front door where the usual security guard was standing.

"Where's the security guard?" Kaiba shouted to Elise, the head maid of the home, as she swallowed before approaching the young master.

"You fired him last week, Mr. Kaiba," Elise replied softly, as Kaiba's hand went to his forehead when he realized that his home was quite understaffed.

"I need you to put hiring signs up for new workers. Make sure to do background cheeks. Also, ," he ordered after thinking for sometime to Elise, who nodded, bowed, and left the room to obey Kaiba's order.

Kaiba let a large sigh out and hoped that he would have better luck with workers, but he highly doubted that Elise would hire anyone worthwhile.

He didn't consider it for much longer as he headed into the dinning room, only to find that there was no food, and that the cook had quit last night.

Authors note: Review! I'll probably update on Thursday or Friday of next week :)


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for reviews! And sorry for not updating in a while :/ Things have been busy!

Kaiba paced about his office as his stomach growled in protest because it wanted to be filled with food. He ran his fingers through his hair as Mokuba appeared in the doorway, and carefully knocked and waited to be summoned into the room.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked while sitting down at his desk, as Mokuba entered the office and went over to his older brother's desk.

"Seto, I'm hungry," Mokuba complained in a whiney voice, as Seto fished through his pockets and handed his younger brother a twenty.

"Here. Order a pizza," Seto ordered while typing harshly on his laptop, as Mokuba sighed lightly and took this as an opportunity to leave the room to follow Seto's instructions.

Break

After Joey had grumbled something about not feeling well as he headed into his bedroom to lie down, Serenity snuck into the kitchen where the bills were lying on top of the fridge.

She knew Joey was trying to hide them from her in fear of scaring her, but Serenity had to know if Joey could afford for them to live in their apartment. So she took a chair, pushed it against the refrigerator, and took a stack of bills down from the heated top.

Serenity observed the bills for not even a minute before she had to put them back; she then went into Joey's room and told him that she was going for a walk.

Aimlessly she went down several streets; paying hardly any mind to any of the other people around her that she bumped into a women posting papers on the side of the street.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Serenity apologized, as Elise smiled widely, which caught Serenity by surprise.

"It's wonderful to hear words of kindness," Elise told Serenity, who nodded her head slowly at the older lady, as Serenity began to walk away from the old maid. "Working for Mr. Kaiba doesn't leave you with much happiness." she muttered as Serenity stopped walking, and turned back around and went back over to Elise.

"You work for Kaiba…" Serenity slowly said; she thought over working for him because of the signs in her head for a moment, until questioning timidly, "The job…"

"You're interested?" Elise asked brightly while finishing putting another poster before walking down the sidewalk with Serenity, who was looking apprehensive about pressing the matter on. "I'd love to have you in for an interview." she said in an excited voice, as she pulled out a pad of paper, wrote down some information on it, and handed it to Serenity.

Break

Serenity wasn't sure how to prepare for her interview with Elise, or what to wear on Saturday, but she decided not to make too much of it. She pulled out a pair of faded flair jeans, pink ballet flats, a baby blue v-neck tee shirt, and a lime green sweatshirt.

She arrived to the Kaiba mansion by a bus that she had taken ten minutes early for her appointment, making her feel confident about being early. She approached the door after going through the gate, and found herself in the waiting lobby where many other girls were awaiting their interview.

Serenity let a breath out while she sat down after checking in with the secretary, and tried to avoid the harsh stares from the other girls.

Break

After being called into her interview, Serenity confidently walked into Kaiba's office to find him sitting at his desk looking indifferent, and Elise sitting next to him with a notebook.

"Serenity, so nice to see you," Elise commented, as Kaiba raised his eyes from staring at his laptop; he watched her stand under the threshold looking lost, and awaited her eyes to meet his.

"You can sit down," Kaiba commented somewhat politely and less harsh than his usual tone, as Elise nearly dropped her pen because it was the first time that Kaiba had looked up from his laptop throughout the other interviews.

Serenity awkwardly closed the door and went to go sit down at the seat in front of Kaiba's desk, but she accidentally tripped over the leg of the chair.

Kaiba let out an amused chuckle, as Serenity smiled a little in embarrassment and quickly sat down.

"I'm just going to ask you some questions," Elise explained shortly while writing something down on yellow legal paper, and when she was preparing to ask the questions, Serenity flickered her eyes over to Kaiba, who was typing on his laptop with a usual cold expression present in his eyes. "If you needed supplies for cleaning because you ran out, who would you ask?" she began the questioning professionally, and looked up at Serenity through soft and open eyes.

"I would ask you, Elise," Serenity honestly said, as Kaiba peered up from his laptop and noted her sweaty palms and nervous expression.

"Why?"

"Because I don't know any of the other people who work here, and Mr. Kaiba is always busy," Serenity answered sincerely, as Elise smiled and wrote something down in her notebook.

They continued on with the questions; but Kaiba kept his head down the entire time in fear of making Serenity think that he was watching her.

Break

After Serenity left, the secretary informed them that she was going to bring another girl in, but Elise told the secretary to give them five minutes before sending someone else in.

"Elise, I want this to be over as soon as possible," Kaiba hissed while giving her a glare, as she put Serenity's application and sheet of notebook paper that Elise had taken notes on about Serenity.

"What did you think of the girls?" Elise pressed on and hoped that he would say something about Serenity; she had known something was up when he looked at her when she entered the room, and because Kaiba hadn't greeted any of the other girls.

"It makes no difference to me," Kaiba replied in a bored voice while typing at his laptop, as Elise pushed down Kaiba's laptop so that he could focus on her. "Elise-"

"I like that Serenity girl."

Kaiba's grave look dropped as he deeply considered this; he took her application, put a check mark next to it, and fell back into his usual bitter mood when dealing with the rest of the girls.

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews!

When Serenity sat down in her chair during science, Kaiba instantly looked over to her and debated on when to tell her about the job. He held his tongue and decided on waiting until the end of the day as he shifted his eyes downward, just as she moved her eyes over to his.

Break

When the end of the day approached and Serenity was walking down the hallway to leave the building, Kaiba grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to an empty hallway.

She tried to pull away from him, and just as she was about to yell, he put his muscular hand over her mouth to silence her attempted cries. He pushed her up against the wall and gingerly took his hand off of her mouth, causing her to instantly shout in protest.

This caused Kaiba to place his hand over her mouth again, as she battled up against him in fear, though Kaiba had no intentions of hurting her.

"I'm offering you a job at my mansion," Kaiba said in a low voice; Serenity stopped crying out for help as his hand fell to the side so that she could speak. "You'd be a maid, obviously. Starting out with the lowest job with the lowest pay and-"

"I don't care! I have a job!" Serenity chimed out in excitement, as Kaiba blinked because he wasn't use to being interrupted.

Kaiba nodded slowly as Serenity looked down at the ground in amazement as she thought over what she was told.

_I'm going to have a job. Money so that I can help Joey pay for the apartment!_ Serenity thought excitedly to herself as Kaiba observed her from a foot away. He gazed over the typical schoolgirl uniform with disinterest, but his eyes soon perked up when he came in contact with her soft face.

Serenity had a naturally flawless face without the need of a foundation or powder to hide imperfections. Her makeup was light; a shimmer white eye shadow and rosy red cheeks that Kaiba was slightly intrigued by. He didn't get to look much longer, because Serenity had grabbed his hands with her own and was staring up at him curiously.

"When do I start?" she asked quickly as Kaiba met her gaze before shifting his eyes over to her hands, which were currently intertwined with his.

She retreated her hands when she noticed his distant expression, and was glad when he stated, "Right now," in a prominent voice, as he grabbed her arm with his usual cold expression, and dragged her outside and into his limo.

Break

The limo ride was silent between the two; Kaiba busy with talking on the phone for work, and Serenity was busy staring out the window at all of the intricate houses as they passed.

What disturbed them was when they arrived, as they both got out of the limo; Serenity doing so quickly because she was eager to see the mansion, and Kaiba slowly because he was still on the phone.

"Welcome home, Mr. Kaiba," Elise greeted from the porch when Kaiba had gotten off of the phone, as Serenity followed him through the threshold and into the mansion.

Her eyes wandered as she looked at everything that her eyes could take in, as Kaiba threw Elise his jacket and ordered, "Show her everything," to Elise, who nodded and smiled at Kaiba as he headed up the stairs to his office.

"That was very kind of Mr. Kaiba to give you a ride. He usually isn't that nice," Elise offered honestly as she began showing Serenity around the mansion.

Serenity contemplated this, as she hadn't thought so much before about why Kaiba had given her a ride to his house, but she became distracted when looking around at the mansion and trying to remember where all of the rooms were.

When they were done with the tour, right away they started cleaning the house. Serenity was left alone by Elise, who had to go show a few other girls around the mansion because they were new as well, leaving Serenity with a bucket, a sponge, and a dirty floor to clean.

Break

At the end of the night when the workers were to be dismissed at seven, Elise gathered up all of the girls and guided them to Kaiba's office. Serenity finally got a good look at the other girls that she realized she would be working with, as she observed them when they were all waiting for Kaiba to let them inside of his office.

The girls responded back with dirty looks as they even began gossiping about her, causing Serenity to avert her eyes away and try her best to ignore them. Kaiba opened his door a minute later, as Serenity and the four other girls filed into the medium sized office.

Kaiba sat down at his desk as the girls all went in front of it and waited for him to begin speaking.

"Read this," he instructed while dolling out a short instruction book about the mansion to the girls, who eagerly took them from him and looked at him for further instruction. "Goodbye." he curtly ordered as they all began shuffling out of the room, except for Serenity, who was lingering by the doorway, waiting for the other girls to leave.

"Thank you for the ride today, Kaiba," she thanked him earnestly, as Kaiba peered up at her through his laptop screen.

"Whatever," Kaiba brushed it off as Serenity sighed, and left Kaiba's office.

Review!


	7. Chapter 7

I'M ALIVE. I totally forgot about this story! But I was going back and reading it and thinking to myself "not to pat myself on the back, but this is a pretty good story! I need to write more." So here I am! I really want to get back on here and write! I'm planning a lot more stuff so check out for that!

So grab your popcorn, refresh your mind if you haven't read this in awhile (or if you're a new reader, I welcome thee), sit back, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh!

When Serenity came home that night, she felt exhausted, but overjoyed. She found Joey in the living room, eating a carton of ice cream and watching wrestling on the tiny TV.

"Joey! Did you even eat dinner?" Serenity scowled at her older brother, who physically jumped and offered his sister a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, Seren. I, um… where ya been?" he asked curiously while getting up and following Serenity into the kitchen.

"I was doing some homework," Serenity lied smoothly; she knew she couldn't tell her brother that she had a job working for Kaiba.

She would tell Joey that she got a job when she bought home her first paycheck.

She would tell Joey that she got a job working for Seto Kaiba… never.

She couldn't risk her brother getting involved with Kaiba. No; she would lie about getting a babysitting job for some random person and Joey would never know. She repeated this in her head as she began preparing some pasta for her and Joey to eat for dinner.

BREAK

Seto had a long night ahead of him. He was stuck at work until at least twelve trying to squeeze everything in all because Elise insisted that he stay for the interviews. Why did it matter who she hired? Elise was a smart woman; she knew a good worker when she saw one. So why did he have to be present for that?

He made a mental note to bring this up to her when he got home.

In the meantime, Kaiba sighed and shook his head, glancing at the clock one last time before returning to work.

BREAK

When Serenity had finished all of her homework and studying for the night, it was nearly eleven. She groaned, but grabbed the manual that she had gotten from the Kaiba mansion, and dug into reading it.

The book was thick, and contained everything. What types of tasks would be asked, what kind of food the Kaiba's liked, and it even had a personal map to take out and use it around the house.

When she got to reading the last page an hour and a half later, she saw a personal note from Kaiba.

If you are reading this you should be honored. However, if you wish to keep your position, you had better follow these rules or else you won't be staying around.

MY RULES

You refer to me as Mr. Kaiba and nothing else. Don't call me "Kaiba" and don't you dare pull a "Seto" on me.

Be on time, always. I don't want you coming in at 3:01, or leaving at 6:59. Your shift is from 3-7 Monday through Friday. Can't come in? Find a new job.

At the end of your shift, if you have finished all of your tasks, check in with Elise. If nothing else needs to be done, you are free to go.

You must finish all of your tasks before the night finishes, and you cannot leave until you finish everything that has been assigned to you.

No talking to the other workers unless it is Elise, or myself.

But really, try not to talk to me at all. If I need to talk to you, I will seek you out myself.

But if you MUST talk to me, be respectful. I expect a greeting when I walk in the house, or if you are leaving, a proper goodbye.

If you see me, you must bow.

You must wear the proper uniform. Elise will be taking your measurements and you will be getting them shortly. For now, you may wear your regular clothes, but in the future, you must wear your uniform. You will be given two. For shoes, at least a two-inch heel. No flip-flops, ballet flats, sneakers, etc.

I can't believe I have to include this one, but don't flirt with me.

If you have questions, ask Elise. And if there is a problem with any of the rules, well, I don't even know why you have this job.

-S.K.

Serenity blinked when she had finished. The note was so… blunt. However, she found all of the rules to be reasonable and manageable, except for the heels part. She would have to head to the local thrift store and pick up a pair. But two inches? Really? She mentally groaned when she realized that she not only had to learn to walk in heels, but do chores in them also.

Nonetheless, Serenity couldn't complain. "I have a job, and that's all that matters."

BREAK

When Seto awoke, he realized he had fallen asleep at his desk at work. He groaned, and lifted his head; greeted by the abundance of daylight in the room.

"Shit," he cursed when he noticed the time bleeding 7:54. He scrambled up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and grabbed his cell phone.

BREAK

Exhausted from a long night of doing homework, studying, reading the "Guide to Seto Kaiba's Mansion", and working, Serenity awoke at nearly 8 o' clock. She gasped, threw on her clothes, dotted a little bit of perfume on after muttering to herself, "Serenity! You have no time and you're putting on perfume?"

After finishing getting ready, she ran into Joey's room and hit him with a random shoe lying around. "Joseph Wheeler! You wake up right this minute!" Serenity ordered loudly, causing Joey to jump out of bed with a start.

Joey scratched his head at Serenity's chosen attitude, as she wasn't usually like this, but he brushed it aside and grabbed a few random clothes from the floor to get ready.

BREAK

As Kaiba was heading to class several minutes too late, he noticed a light, floral perfume scent floating around the air. It wasn't bad, compared to some others he's smelled before.

"Good morning, Kaiba," Serenity greeted when he came up next to her because he couldn't stop smelling her, but he instantly stopped when he noticed her gaze. "You look tired." she commented even though she couldn't say anything when she looked dead herself.

"Thanks," Kaiba mumbled while letting out a small yawn, as he moved a little to the left so that him and Serenity weren't so close. "What's that smell?" he had to ask because it was driving him crazy.

"My perfume. Sorry if it smells bad. Joey can't stand the stuff," Serenity said with a sad smile while looking into Kaiba's eyes.

She stopped paying attention to where her feet were taking her for a moment. She took a couple of seconds to just look into Seto's eyes; they were a beautiful captivating royal blue. She had always noticed them as being his best feature, but she never took the time to just gaze into them and get lost.

Her staring didn't last too long; she almost crashed into an opened locker, but Seto wrapped his firm arms around her waist before she could take another step.

"Careful," Seto whispered into her hair, as the random kid glared at them before returning his attention onto grabbing his books from his locker. "Are you all right?" he asked in a voice filled with concern, and for a moment, he forgot where he was and just how late he was going to be. He was enjoying the moment, which was something he never did. He enjoyed holding Serenity; she was petite and skinny, but not too thin to cause him to worry.

Worry? He thought and threw his arms back in alarm. Serenity whipped around to see if he was okay, but Kaiba had his hands on his knees with his head hanging downward.

"Are you okay?" she asked carefully and took a step closer to Kaiba, who backed up and put his arms up defensively.

"Peachy," he answered when he placed his hands downward, as he headed in the direction of their class, but the bell had just rung. "Fuck." Kaiba muttered as Serenity's eyes filled up instantly with worry, as she gripped onto the sleeve of Seto's jacket.

"I've never skipped a class before," Serenity pleaded in a desperate voice, as Kaiba looked around, noticing that everyone was staring at him and Serenity oddly.

He swallowed the fear that was present on his face, as his typical arrogant expression replaced it.

"Not my problem," he snapped in a nasty voice while swinging back in the other direction, leaving Serenity clueless behind him.

A/N-Whoa. So I have A LOT of inspiration for this story. Yay! Please review guys! Hope you're sticking with me!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- So I'm moving into college, so another update may not come for the weekend, but I'm aiming at Wednesday. Bear with me!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

The rest of the school day was uneventful for both Serenity and Kaiba. They both went to their classes and ignored each other as usual.

At lunchtime, Kaiba sat at his usual table alone, and Serenity sat with her brother and his friends.

"How's your day been, Serenity?" Tristan asked in a polite voice, as Serenity smiled sweetly at the remark.

"It's been all right. Thanks for asking, Tristan," Serenity replied as she poked her salad with her fork and began daydreaming.

She looked over at Kaiba; noted how he was typing on his laptop, eating a sandwich, and talking on the phone all at the same time. He had an angry look on his face, as she could picture him sneering at whomever he was dealing with on the phone. She had to smile at how cute he was; she couldn't deny her slight attraction for him. Duke and Tristan are all right looking, but Kaiba blew the others out of the water. His eyes were extra blue today; deep in consideration and bright with coldness.

She was snapped out of her daze when she saw Duke waving his hand in front of her face.

"Serenity… earth to Serenity!"

"Sorry. What's going on?" Serenity asked in a rushed voice as she looked around at the concerned faces staring at her around the table.

"Are you all right?" she heard Joey ask, as Serenity nodded and gave him a small smile that caused him to sigh in relief.

"Fine. Just daydreaming," she said as she looked back over to Kaiba, who was off the phone at this point and was focused on eating, and reading something on his computer.

Kaiba looked up; sensing that someone was watching him. He looked over at Yugi's table and met eyes with Serenity. She looked down instantly, as if she hadn't been just staring.

When Serenity got wrapped up in a conversation with Tristan, or Duke, (Kaiba couldn't remember the difference, nor did he care) Kaiba took this as an opportunity to stare at Serenity. She was pretty, and even he couldn't deny that. He first stared at her enchanting hazel eyes; they were warm and inviting. There was a gleam of innocence present also, which reminded him of Mokuba.

I've really been neglecting him lately. Kaiba thought as he let a breath escape him, and made a mental note to try and come home early from work on Friday.

BREAK

The rest of the week went by rather uneventful for both Serenity and Seto. Seto stayed at work much past seven, so the only chance Serenity had to see him was at school. Serenity was balancing a ton of homework, work at the mansion, and cooking and caring for Joey and herself.

On Friday at around five, Serenity was busy dusting the dinning room when two of the other young maids walked in. The girls shot Serenity a nasty look as they hung out by Kaiba's chair, neglecting working as they whispered to one another.

Every once and awhile they looked over at Serenity, who was focused on dusting the table and chairs.

"Would you like to tell me why your conversation is so important that you had to stop working to talk? Or should you just not say anything and let me fire you?"

The two girls swallowed, looked at Kaiba, then back at each other.

"That's what I thought. Now get out, before I call security on you," Kaiba threatened as the girls scurried out of the mansion, leaving Kaiba to sigh as his hand went up to his forehead.

When Kaiba shifted his eyes to Serenity, she curtseyed politely, and returned to working.

"Idiots," Kaiba muttered while lazily sitting down in the chair that Serenity was currently dusting, causing her to step aside and move onto the next one. "Get me a snack, would you?"

Serenity went straight into the kitchen, and grabbed a cupcake from the fridge. Red velvet was Kaiba's favorite, and she knew that. She poured a small glass of milk, put the two food items as well as a fork and napkin on a tray, and reentered the dinning room.

When she set them in front of Kaiba, who was busy texting on his phone, she didn't hear a 'thank you.' She had to admit she was kind of surprised, being that Kaiba seemed to be well bought up in manners, but she figured it was just because she was a maid, and he regarded her as nothing special.

"Thank you," Kaiba mumbled while setting his phone aside as he stared at the treat.

Serenity watched his face because she wanted to know if the snack was appropriate, and was relived with Kaiba picked up the fork, ripped off the wrapper, and dove in.

"These are my favorite," Kaiba commented while stuffing another bite into his mouth.

He finished the cupcake within seconds, and downed his glass of milk instantly.

"You make this?" he asked her with interest as he grabbed the napkin and wiped his mouth with it.

"No, sir," Serenity admitted and wished that she had, because she wanted Kaiba's praise instead of the chef, which was the person who made them. "I can make them for you if you like." she added and knew it was a risky move, but Kaiba seemed pleased as he nodded.

"That would be wonderful."

Just as Mokuba was about to enter the dinning room because he saw his brother home so early, he stopped near the doorway and peeked in. His brother was having a conversation with one of his maids… and he wasn't yelling for once.

"You bake?"

Though the conversation was slightly flat, Serenity was enjoying herself. She was having a normal conversation with Kaiba for once; something she never expected.

"And cook," Serenity said while continuing dusting around the room, as Kaiba admired her while she lightly, but surely dusted each chair.

"You should make us dinner. I never get home early so I haven't had a real meal in awhile," Seto informed her as Serenity nodded curtly, doubting that she would ever have the opportunity to do this.

"How about tonight?" Mokuba burst in the room in an excited voice, as he rushed over to Seto, and latched onto his arm. "Please, Seto?" he begged as Kaiba was slightly alarmed, but remained calm as he laughed.

"Ask Serenity if she's okay with it," Kaiba said with a motion for Serenity, who had stopped dusting and was staring at Kaiba.

She was looking for the catch; why was he in such a good mood? He just let go of two maids for talking. Why did he come home early today anyway?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Mokuba came up next to her and nagged on her uniform.

"Will you please cook for us tonight, Serenity? Please, please! Our chef keeps making me chicken nuggets and if I see another chicken, I think I'm going to puke!"

Serenity and Kaiba both laughed at this; Serenity stopped short to look over at Kaiba, who was chuckling brightly. She loved the way his eyes glowed when he laughed, and the way his teeth showed.

"I'll make something a lot tastier for you," Serenity smiled as she bent down, and ruffled Mokuba's hair.

Seto stopped his laughing now and took this as an opportunity to gaze at Serenity. He loved the way her eyes shimmered as she looked to Mokuba like he was her own child.

"Can we get started, now? I'm hungry," Mokuba commented while grabbing Serenity's hand, and leading her into the kitchen.

But Seto remained in his chair, though he was hungry as well.

He wondered why he had a sudden change in attitude towards Serenity and why he asked her to cook for them. He shook off the thought and blamed it on his good mood for leaving work early, as he entered the kitchen.

A/N- I'll try and get a chapter up soon! Review :)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- So much for an update on Wednesday. I think I'll be knocking it down to one update per week because I've been really busy with school. But, that means that my chapters will be much longer because I have more time on the weekends.

And thanks for the reviews!

I don't own Yugioh!

Serenity glanced around the kitchen briefly out of nervousness, but she dove right into her work, in fear of making Kaiba upset.

Mokuba and Seto both sat down in the chairs by the island, which was in the middle of the kitchen, so it gave both boys a perfect view to watch her work.

"What are you going to make us?" Mokuba asked in a curious voice, as Serenity opened the fridge and looked around.

"How about some…"

"Make whatever you want," Seto insisted while beginning to play around with his phone, as Serenity bit her lip at the lack of food in the refrigerator.

Serenity proceeded to walk around the kitchen, and open cabinet after cabinet, but there was hardly any food in the house.

"There's like nothing here," Serenity whispered to herself, and was grateful when neither Kaiba boy heard her. "Master Kaiba?" she asked weakly as she turned around to face him.

Kaiba's eyes hadn't left his phone, but he lifted them when he heard Serenity's gentle voice. "There's not a lot of food and…"

Kaiba sighed, stood up, and shoved his phone in the pocket of his black pants. He strode over to the doorway, and motioned for both to follow him.

"We'll go to the local market," he suggested as Mokuba's eyes brightened.

"Would you like me to get your driver?" Serenity questioned politely, as Seto looked at her, before returning his gaze to looking ahead of him as he glided down the stairs.

"No. We'll walk," he said, as Serenity nodded and headed back to the kitchen to begin preparing as much of the dinner as she could. "Serenity, I need you to come with me." Kaiba didn't realize how desperate that sentence sounded until it was too late.

Mokuba shot his older brother a strange look; Seto had rarely used people's first names, or talked to people in a respectful way.

"I don't know what to buy," Seto said quickly as a cover up when he noticed Mokuba was looking confused, and Serenity had stopped walking to look at him oddly.

Serenity smiled sweetly, as the lost expression she had on about Kaiba's strange behavior disappeared. Kaiba sighed in a relieved way, as the three of them walked out of the house.

Mokuba talked both Serenity and Seto's ear off, but neither paid much mind to him, only to give the occasional head nod or quick word of approval. Kaiba spent most of the time sneaking gazes at Serenity and hoping that she wouldn't notice. And Serenity was daydreaming as usual, therefore she was not paying too much mind to either Kaiba boy.

When they arrived fifteen minutes later, Serenity instantly grabbed a basket and began shopping around. Mokuba wandered off to the candy, and Seto followed Serenity around the store.

Serenity, not realizing that she was being watched or followed, hummed quietly, and talked to herself as she picked out the food.

"We'll want to grab some broccoli, even if Mokuba hates it. Vegetables are good for you, she said in a singsong voice while adding some fresh broccoli wrapped in a bag to the basket. Soon enough, the basket became too full, so Kaiba offered, "Would you like me to carry that for you?" he asked thoughtfully, as Serenity jumped and nearly dropped the basket.

Kaiba laughed at her clumsiness, as Serenity blushed and looked to the ground. "Here. I've got that," he said while taking the basket, as Serenity lifted her gaze to look at him.

She had never seen him smile before, and she had to admit that he looked so much more attractive and beautiful. His deep eyes lit up in a way that she had never seen before, and his entire face brightened.

She didn't realize how long she was staring for, as Kaiba caught on, and his usual defensive face was slapped back on. "What?" he whispered while searching Serenity's eyes, which were intent on the older Kaiba brother.

"You should do that more often," Serenity said simply when she snapped out of her gaze, and began walking towards the meat section in the store.

"Do what?" Kaiba questioned curiously, as he followed her while dragging along the heavy shopping basket.

"Smile. It looks good on you," she commented sweetly while looking back and sending him a brief smile, before turning her head and walking away from him.

Kaiba froze in the middle of the aisle. It must have been months since he last smiled genuinely.

It took him a couple of seconds, but he regained composure and followed Serenity.

BREAK

When Kaiba met back up with Serenity, it went quiet again. She would find an item, place it in the basket, smile at Kaiba, and move on to a different food item. This repeated until they were in the spices aisle, and Serenity was gripping a spice bottle nervously.

"Master Kaiba?" she asked calmly while attempting to look him in the eye, but her nerves got the best of her and she merely stared up at the spices.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you ask me to come with you?" Serenity asked the question that she had been dying to know to Kaiba, who merely looked at her before shrugging his shoulders.

"I've never been food shopping before. I'd have no idea what to buy," Kaiba admitted, and as soon as he said this, Serenity giggled and began dumping a couple of spices into the basket.

"Really? The smart and rich CEO would be lost food shopping?" she laughed while saying this in a playful voice, as Seto cracked a small smile.

Kaiba said nothing in reply, but the smile was on his face the rest of shopping trip.

BREAK

After arriving home, Mokuba disappeared to go and play videogames, including a mere, "Call me when dinner's ready," as he snuck out of the kitchen with a smile, as he wanted Seto and Serenity to have some alone time.

Before getting started, Serenity took off her apron, heels, and knee-highs and threw them on the floor. Seto stared at her in shock, as Serenity swallowed in embarrassment. "Sorry. They're really uncomfortable," she said with a small giggle, as she finally began cooking.

Seto watched her the entire time. She danced around the kitchen; grabbing food from the bags, cutting up the fish, chopping up vegetables and so on.

He was speechless when she came over with a spoon, and asked if she could try her homemade pasta sauce.

"How is it?" she asked him eagerly with wide eyes, as Seto laughed at how adorable she looked.

"Excellent," he commented as Serenity smiled at him, before going back to moving about the kitchen.

BREAK

After around an hour of preparation, dinner was finally served. Serenity stood back and watched the Kaiba brothers dive into the meal; instantly after they took a bite, they both looked at each other, and then Serenity.

"This is amazing!" Mokuba exclaimed and buried his face into his food, causing Seto and Serenity to laugh.

"Delicious. Sit down and join us, will you?" Seto questioned and before he could stop himself, he had already offered.

Mokuba stopped eating and stared at his older brother in shock. Serenity appeared surprised as well, as she didn't move for a couple of moments.

"Thank you for offering, Master Kaiba. But I wouldn't want to impose," she said as she bowed, and quickly headed back into the kitchen.

Kaiba stood up and instantly rushed into the kitchen after her. He grabbed her by the wrist, which sent Serenity to stop walking and freeze.

"It's no big deal, really. We're going to have leftovers anyway."

Serenity sighed and slowly turned around; she stared into Kaiba's deep blue eyes and tried to see if this was a test.

"Okay," Serenity replied while grabbing a plate from the cabinet, and hesitantly following Seto back into the dinning room.

BREAK

After a quiet dinner was finished, Mokuba was once again snuck away to his bedroom to give Seto and Serenity some more time alone.

"Dinner was excellent. Better than I've had in a long time," Seto said in an honest voice, as Serenity beamed and continued wrapping the food away to put in the refrigerator. "Thank you for staying overtime. I'll make sure to add it to your pay." he commented softly while watching as Serenity finished off with the food.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just doing my job," she said with a bright smile as she went over and grabbed her clothes that were still lying on the floor.

Seto caught a glimpse of her bright blue underwear as she bent down, causing him to blush and look away when she turned around to face him.

"Are those really uncomfortable?" Seto asked as he gestured to the stockings, heels, and apron.

"The apron and stockings are too hot, and I can't walk in heels," Serenity admitted shyly as she began playing with a thread on the apron to avoid Seto's gaze.

"Can't say I've ever walked in heels before, but I'll take your word for it."

Serenity giggled as Seto stood up and began stretching his arms outwards.

"How are you getting home?" he asked her suddenly in a slightly worried and overprotective voice, as Serenity looked at her watch and sighed lightly.

"I usually take the bus, but it only comes around here every hour. I guess I'll be waiting," she said while throwing on her heels, and following Kaiba down the stairs.

"Nonsense. I'll take you home," Seto insisted and without question, he grabbed Serenity by the hand and led her out the door.

"Master Kaiba, it's fine, really…" Serenity tried protesting, but Seto ignored her as he went up to his driver, who was washing the windows on the limo.

The driver instantly stopped what he was doing to open up the door for the two. Kaiba didn't thank him, as they both climbed into the backseat and sat down next to each other.

With the exception of Serenity telling the driver where she lived, just like grocery shopping and dinner, it was silent. Serenity was off daydreaming, and Seto spent the entire time admiring her.

When they approached the house, Seto got out first and assisted Serenity in getting out of the car.

"Thank you very much for the ride, Master Kaiba. You didn't have to do that, really."

"Don't worry about it," Seto said as they stopped walking in front of the door; Serenity instantly began shivering as the cool September air hit her body. "Here…" he whispered as he took his jacket off, and hung it loosely on her shoulders.

Serenity smiled warmly at the action and clutched the jacket tightly over her. Seto began his intense staring again; he was amused at how long it took Serenity to notice.

"What are you doing, Master Kaiba?" she asked quietly as his face drew in nearer, to try and kiss Serenity on the lips.

A/N-Review!


	10. Chapter 10

I am an awful, awful human being. I deeply apologize for this being up so late. Things have been so crazy and I just kept forgetting to update this. Thank you so much for the reviews, and new followers that I received!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh!

Serenity blushed; she stood up on her tippy toes, grabbed Seto's shirt, and leaned in to kiss him passionately. Seto snuck one hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Since they were so wrapped up in the kiss, neither noticed Joey throwing opening the door and staring at them with a bewildered expression.

"K… Kaiba?" Joey asked in surprise, as Kaiba broke the kiss and snapped his head over to where Serenity's dumfounded brother stood. "What are you doing to my sister?" he yelled while grabbing Serenity by the arm and pulling her into him.

It took Seto hardly a second to wipe off his surprised and weary expression before he replied with, "I was kissing her, until you rudely interrupted," he smartly replied with a smirk, as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Joey amusingly.

Joey blinked and looked from Kaiba, back to Serenity. He opened his mouth, but found that words weren't available at the moment.

"Joey… you're hurting me," Serenity whispered while pushing her brother off of her awkwardly.

Serenity moved closer to Seto, as if expecting him to wrap his arms around her and hold her. But Seto did nothing of the nature, as he even hopped off the step to avoid getting too close to the Wheelers.

Serenity was shocked at his behavior, but decided to keep pushing it. She stepped off the step as well and gently made her way to Seto.

"Seto? What's the-"

"Do not call me that," Kaiba's eyes instantly turned a harsh shade of blue, as he whipped his head to stare Serenity down.

Serenity took a step forward despite her fear, as soft tears filled her eyes.

"What's the matter?" she asked quietly as the tears spilled out of her eyes and down her cheeks; she stared deep into Seto's eyes and tried to find any hint of empathy.

But they were only full of coldness.

"I thought you… cared about me," Serenity chose her words carefully when she saw Seto beginning to walk towards his limo, but he stopped walking when he heard her voice.

"You're quite mistaken."

Seto stormed away, and reentered his limo; ignoring his driver, who was opening the door for him.

Serenity stood motionless for a few moments as she watched the limo slowly back out of the driveway, and drive off. Joey crept over to his sister, and stood a fair distance away because he didn't know what to expect.

Serenity turned slightly, and dove unexpectedly into her brother's arms. A wave of different emotions swept over her; confusion, anger, sadness. Why did Seto act so strangely? Was it because Joey was there? Or was it something else? Regardless, Serenity broke down and started hysterically sobbing into her brother.

BREAK

It was awhile before Serenity had calmed down. By now, they were both inside sitting on the couch in the living room; a blanket draped delicately around her shoulders.

"Serenity, do you mind telling me what's going on?" Joey asked in a slow and gentle voice, as he didn't want to push anything.

Serenity opened her mouth to begin speaking, but the doorbell rang. Joey crept carefully to the door, looking out to window to make sure that Kaiba hadn't made a reappearance. But thankfully, it was only the gang, so Joey opened the door and let Yugi, Tristan, Duke, Tea, and Mai inside.

Joey muttered quietly to the group about what had happened, so when they all emerged back into the living room, they were prepared. Duke and Tristan instantly made their way over to Serenity and sat on either side of her; wrapping their arms protectively around her shoulders.

"Serenity, if you don't want to say anything, you don't have to. We can just talk about this later," Joey said, though he really wanted Serenity to tell him now because he was dying to know why Kaiba was anywhere near his sister.

"No, it's fine. I think it's better to have my friends here," Serenity replied gently, as she took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell them everything. She told them about how she got the job, how she had been working at the mansion for a good while now, and what happened tonight. By the time she was finished, she gazed around at the mixed emotions displayed on the faces of her friends, but stopped when she met Joey's gaze.

His face displayed a variety of different emotions, but he narrowed his look down to a concerned one when he saw Serenity's eyes on him.

"Duke, Tristan, take Serenity to her room. I need a moment," he whispered, as Duke and Tristan gladly did as ordered, and escorted Serenity into her bedroom.

"Can we get you anything? Some tea or water perhaps?" Tristan offered sweetly, as he sat Serenity down on her bed.

Serenity shook her head in reply, and clutched the blanket closer. She looked down at her maid outfit, and grew embarrassed at how inappropriate the outfit was. "Do you think you could get me a change of clothes?" she asked, as Duke instantly stood up and went to Serenity's dresser.

Tristan stayed with her, as he sat down on the bed and put a comforting on Serenity's back; the other hand placed gently on her upper thigh.

"Thank you both for staying with me. I really appreciate it," Serenity said quietly, as Tristan smiled, and continued rubbing a gentle hand over Serenity's back.

BREAK

"You know what they say, Joey, opposites attract," Yugi said with an awkward laugh, as Joey shook his head violently.

"Yugi, it could be anyone but him. You, Tristan, or even Duke and I wouldn't care! But, Kaiba? He has to be messing with her or something," Joey ranted as he sighed, and collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table.

Tea sat next to him, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it affectionately. "Who knows, maybe Kaiba isn't as bad as we think he is," Tea pointed out comfortingly, as Joey knocked Tea's hand off and stood up; beginning to pace around the small kitchen.

"He is, Tea. I know him and he's a jerk. Serenity needs to quit her job working for him. I don't want them near each other."

"Now, wait just a minute Joseph Wheeler. I've heard just enough out of you. You don't even know what's really going on between the two. Maybe they're together. Maybe tonight was just a rough night or…" Mai began in a lecturing tone, but Joey cut her off carelessly.

"They're not together! And even if they are, I'm breaking them apart. Rich boy is not getting near my sister," Joey shouted, as he stormed out of the kitchen with Yugi following close behind.

"Joey, you're not thinking rationally here," Yugi began, as they both sat down on couch before Yugi continued speaking. "You need to talk to Serenity alone. You need to find out what's really going on and take action from there," he suggested kindly, as Joey nodded in agreement his head after awhile of silence.

BREAK

After the gang had left, Joey entered Serenity's room. She saw her sitting in the middle of her bed with her hands wrapped delicately around her knees.

"Sis?" Joey asked from the doorway, as she lifted her head to look at him before returning her sad gaze to stare at her blankets. "If you don't want to talk now, then…"

"There's nothing to talk about," Serenity denied in a soft voice, as she buried her face into her knees while Joey went over to her and pulled her into a hug.

BREAK

As soon as Kaiba entered the limo, he felt a strange feeling washing over him; it felt like guilt. Did he actually feel bad about what had happened to Serenity? The look on her and her brother's faces… but Seto knew he couldn't act nice to her when Joey was around.

Though Kaiba had to admit, Joey did seem pretty upset, which pleased the businessman. Kaiba knew how much Joey hated him, and to see his little sister kissing his worst enemy, well, Kaiba knew it only increased Joey's hatred of him.

But his thoughts moved back to Serenity and the kiss. He had never kissed anybody before, but had to admit that he enjoyed it. It was delightful and sweet, and Serenity's lips tasted like vanilla cake. He wanted to do it again. He wanted to kiss her, hold her, be with her. But how was any of that possible with Joey around?

The rest of the car ride, Seto was consumed with feelings and thoughts of Serenity. He contemplated on several occasions to ask his driver to turn around, but always stopped himself and talked himself out of it. He would simply call her later, apologize, and everything would go back to how it was. But, what did going back to how it was look like? Did it mean going back to when they were strangers? Enemies? Friends?

Kaiba thought over this for the rest of the car ride.

BREAK

Kaiba called Serenity's cell phone at around eleven. He knew it was late, and that she was probably in bed, but he didn't care. He needed to talk to her.

Much to his disappointment, Joey picked up the phone instead and let out a gruff, "Kaiba?"

Kaiba let out a sigh and tapped his pen. He was at work, but couldn't manage to get any of it done until he talked to her.

"Put Serenity on. _Now_," he growled harshly, as he could hear Joey shifting and a soft whimper coming from another person in the room.

Kaiba heard a door close gently, and some more shifting until Joey finally spoke again. "She's sleeping, and I wouldn't let you talk to her even if she was awake," Joey snapped, as Kaiba sighed and stood up; beginning his pacing around his vast office.

"Listen, Wheeler, you don't understand-"

"I know enough! You stay away from my sister, rich boy!"

Kaiba sighed and shook his head, debating on how to carry on with this conversation. He was someone who always knew what to say, so he surprised himself when he was at a loss for words.

"You hear me, Kaiba? I want you to stay away from my sister," Joey said after awhile of silence; his voice calming down at this point.

Another silence fell, but this time, Kaiba had every intention of answering. "No," he said simply, as he hung up his phone, and placed it on his desk.

Satisfied, Kaiba sat back down, took a deep breath, and dove into his work to keep his mind off of Serenity.

A/N-Review. I promise the next chapter update will not be as long.


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